IHC issues summons to ISI DG = Missing person case

ISLAMABAD - The Islamabad High Court (IHC) Friday sent summons to Director General (DG) Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) for his appearance before the court in a missing person case on April 2.The court sent legal summons to DG ISI through additional attorney general directing him to appear before the court in Muhammad Arif, a missing person, case.Earlier, a single bench of IHC comprising Justice Riaz Ahmad Khan had directed DG ISI Lt-Gen Zaheerul Islam to appear before the court by next week with an affidavit pertaining to the custody of the missing person.The court had issued these directions in a petition filed by Parveen Bibi, wife of Muhammad Arif and a resident of Peshawar Road Rawalpindi, who had moved the court for the recovery of her husband through her counsel advocate Zafarul Hassan Joya. Parveen Bibi, in February this year, had filed the habeas corpus petition for the recovery of her missing husband and made Ministry of Interior and DG ISI as respondents in her petition.The petitioner informed the court that her husband along with three others had visited Khushab last year to condole death of a friend with his family when ISI officials allegedly picked them up.She stated that all the four were picked up from Khushab. However, the agency released two of them later but kept Arif and another man with them in their custody. The two released men later told their relatives that they were picked up by the ISI, she added. On the first hearing of the petition, the same IHC bench had issued notices to the respondents and directed them to submit their reply.Justice Riaz had directed the spy agency to trace the whereabouts of the missing person and intimate the court with directions to the DG ISI for deputing a responsible official who would apprise the court of the progress in the matter.On last Monday, a standing counsel, Raja Khalid, had informed the court that the Interior Ministry was seeking six weeks time for submitting a report regarding the whereabouts of the missing Arif. However, the judge dismissed the contentions and observed that the matter was related to the liberty of a citizen. The IHC bench directed the DG to appear before the court in person on next date of hearing as the ISI had failed to depute any official in accordance with the IHC directives.